The Edmonton Oilers took an unfortunate Game 3 loss to the Vancouver Canucks at home on Sunday (May 12) night and now find themselves down 2-1 in the series. The Oilers played well overall, outshooting the Canucks by a massive 45-18 margin. Unfortunately, the Oilers weren’t able to get anything going offensively and couldn’t solve Arturs Silovs, who stopped 42 shots in the Canucks’ 4-3 win.
After the game, Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch commented on his team and what they will need to win moving forward in the series. He also took a subtle shot at goaltender Stuart Skinner, who only stopped 11 of 15 shots he faced.
”Yes, we need more saves. Tonight, obviously, I felt like that with Picks going in the third period but defense along with goaltending is very important to winning hockey games. Especially in the long term. Yeah, it’s got to be better.”
– Oilers Head Coach Kris Knoblauch (Post-Game Comments)
The Oilers will have to try to bounce back in a big way as they look to even the series at home on Tuesday. Offensively, the Oilers have nothing to worry about. They fired off plenty of shots to try and get the job done. They just have to focus on finding more scoring at even strength rather than just the power play.
What Do Knoblauch’s Comments Indicate?
The comments from Knoblauch show he’s going to hold his questionable goaltending and weak defensive play accountable heading toward Game 4. With Skinner playing one of the worst games of his playoff career on Sunday, it’s up in the air whether he or Calvin Pickard will get the call between the pipes for the next game.
It’s also interesting to note that the Oilers have called up Jack Campbell, who hasn’t seen an NHL game since he was sent to the American Hockey League (AHL) following an atrocious start to his 2023-24 campaign, but he found a groove with the Bakersfield Condors. While I doubt it’s going to happen, there is no way Knoblauch doesn’t consider giving Campbell a shot if Skinner continues to play the way he is and Pickard can’t get it done.